John 7:41

μὴ γὰρ … ὁ Χρ. ἐρ. We have here an instance how little attention our translators paid to the Greek article; in the same verse they translate the article in one place and ignore it in another. In the next verse they ignore it again. In all three places it should be ‘the Christ’ (see on John 1:20). What, doth the Christ come out of Galilee? Comp. Nathanael’s difficulty (John 1:46). It is quite inadmissible to infer, because S. John does not correct this mistake of supposing that Jesus came from Galilee, that he is either ignorant of the truth or indifferent to it. He knew that his readers would be well aware of the facts, and he leaves the error without comment to their pity or disdain; comp. John 1:45; John 6:42-43; John 7:20; John 7:52. On the other hand, could a Greek of the second century invent these discussions of the Jewish multitude?